Pressing Misconceptions
by libbyluvs
Summary: "Last, but not least, I've placed a little present in the items storage of every player. Please, have a look." What if a player didn't look in the mirror? Klein gets separated from his group while take on a quest to rid a forest of a merciless killer and what he finds doesn't add up. (Klein/OC) (sorry if this concept has already been done)


Pressing Misconceptions

"Ben, there are snake creatures in the game! For fucks sake, put your shoes back on."

"Nope, never gonna happen!" The sensation of actual grass (well, virtual grass) slotted silkily between his toes was too surreal an experience. The cool earth felt soft and natural under the weight of this avatar body. As he wiggled his toes into the dirt a rush of elation welled up in his chest, the joyous commotion urging to be voiced with the full power of these healthy lungs. A light breeze moved the mop of his bangs, causing the hairs to tickle lightly at his forehead, and adding to his pleasure.

Was this what it was like for other people? Did everyone walk about in bodies of pure nerves, albeit well accustomed to living familiarly with all five senses? For someone like him it was distracting and too much and blissful all at the same time.

"C'mooon, I wanna try out these sweet ass swords already!" His friend complained, breaking his concentration.

"Danny, please just-" brushing off mild irritation at the other's whining, he softened his voice, "I'm only just learning to walk while you've had your whole life to." He rushed on to say, "And I'm not blaming you, but please… give me a full minute before you drag me off into a village of ogres or something."

Daniel had the smarts to look guilty before immediately reverting back to his nagging self, his thoughtfulness lasting all of ten seconds before he was right up in his smaller friend's face.

Smiling and placing a hand on Ben's shoulder he said, "It's not Warcraft! M'sorry though. I Kinda forgot, being in the most expensive and totally awesome game of our time and all, but you really should get your feet covered. Wild boars aren't the only low level nuisances on this floor you know."

When the warmth of the other's hand completely encompassed the exposed skin of his shoulder, Ben's whole body shivered and he pinched his tongue between his teeth to keep from gasping. Daniel's hand was rather large and familiar, yet not. It wasn't the same, but the action had been repeated enough back at home in a small bedroom with the intentions of comforting that he'd expected the usual numbness he knew came from the action. It was.. nice, and embarrassing! But it couldn't be helped.

He couldn't keep it from Danny in case, "Whoa, you have the body receptors on high?"

Ben tried to sidle the question/accusation, "Maybe."

He sucked at sidling.

Daniel sighed, he understood, "Yeah, well turn the pain receptors all the way down- nah, just disable them! It's not something you should feel anyway."

"M'kay."

Danny startled playing with his dark hair, and while his first instinct was to bat him away Ben stood perfectly still and let him. Like all the new responses this body was throwing at him for each time he met with something he hadn't previous to logging onto SAO, the light tugs and caresses owned all of his attention. Soon he was humming contentedly and leaning into the other's chest, getting sleepy from habit and not because what his best friend was doing felt good.

Danny laughed, dropping his hands from the long tresses, and ruining the mood by poking at the new additions to Ben's abnormally slim figure. "Why did you pick a female avatar anyway? It's a little weird knowing my loser is the one on the other end of this smoking receptacle."

Ben's face grew bright hot red as he stuttered and faltered, "Because, idiot, girls are pretty a-and," Danny's hands were doing quite a bit more than poking now, "I-I wanted to… so.. So why the hell not!?"

The younger man groaned inwardly as the decent mounds sticking straight out from his chest rippled slightly under the questing fingers of his friend's unsolicited attentions. He was torn, close to feeling humiliated, but wanting to see how far Danny would go, or if he was simply having a go at him.

By the unsubtle deepening of Danny's tone he wasn't joking, "Yeah, why not? I like you in any form anyways, Ben."

He ran both thumbs over the other's nipples, enjoying how hard they'd become through the fabric of Ben's shirt. Daniel admitted to himself that making a move on Ben wasn't at all what he'd planned on doing once he'd bought Sword Art Online and brought his disabled friend here, but seeing the change in his dear companion's smile- that he was even capable of such a feat –brought all these long buried feelings to the forefront of his mind and he decided he could risk it. He'd never known Ben could be so happy by just the touch of grass, the ability to feel the small things. He was happy for him. Stupid happy, and he wanted for him to know of the big things in a bit more of an intimate fashion. If he was willing of course.

"D-Danny.." Ben's hands shot up to support himself on the taller boy's shoulders. It was so much, he thought he could faint.

"Ah, ah, ah," Daniel teased, "My name is King_Puppy_Face here."

Apparently Ben wasn't so overwhelmed that he couldn't smack the grinning idiot upside the head.

"Jerk."

Daniel grunted and pulled back from assaulting his friend, but not because Ben had hit him hard. Sometimes he let his big mouth run, spring spontaneous things on Ben and, too late, he would realize he'd overstepped his bounds. The smaller boy had a tendency to fall into quiet bouts of sadness when he became upset.

Daniel whispered as though the volume of his voice alone could cause harm, "Sorry. I'm really sorry, Ben, I wasn't thinking."

Gray eyes darkened as Ben shook his head at the other's doubt. Closing the distance placed between them as a safety barrier the less spontaneous of the two ensnared the other by the back of the neck and brought their foreheads together.

"I was working up the courage to kiss you and you had to go and say something like that is all." Ben lowered his fervent gaze, feeling not so bold anymore. "That's where you were going with this right?"

Danny lifted Ben's chin to smirk at him, "Hellz, yeah."

Ben's last thought was that his heart was going to bludgeon his rib cage before hot lips exchanged the best feeling by far for his worry, stealing his breath away. Which was a rotten thing to do considering he'd need plenty more oxygen to kiss the smugness off Danny's face.

It was some time later that they were thoroughly mussed and huffing for air, laying in the soft grass, intertwined at the hands. The virtual sky was well into the dusky color of mid evening and a few early crickets were tuning their instruments for their nightly orchestra. Neither boy seemed bothered by the time. After years of pent up affections they felt the hours they spent making out were well warranted. They stayed in a peaceful silence long enough to steady the racing pulses of young men coming into their prime and then it was Ben who broke the moment.

"You'd still want to do that if I looked like me, right? What I mean is, you'd eventually have kissed me in the real world even if we hadn't played SAO. We feel the same….?"

Danny squeezed his hand tightly, "Yeah, Ben. It might have taken longer, but you're it for me."

"Even though I have CIPA?" it was said tentatively, like he couldn't truly hope.

The other turned on his side to face the person that made him feel they just might be crazy enough to accomplish anything they set their minds to together.

"You." Danny kissed the back of his hand, "Are." trailed his lips to the inside of Ben's wrist, "It." and lightly sucked on the muscles of his palm.

It tickled and Ben's delighted thrashing ended up with both boys laughing through tears. Ben couldn't remember if he'd ever laughed until he cried. It made his head ache a little, and once they got going it was difficult to stop, but he liked it enough to want to do it again with Danny in the near future. It was easier to calm down after Danny stopped, and Ben would have tried to kiss him again if not for the other suddenly gripping both sides of his head and grimacing as if in pain.

Ben was instantly concerned, "Danny, what's wrong?"

His concern turned to fright when his love whimpered in reply, "M-my h-head! Ben! It h-urts."

Next to the older boy's head a health bar appeared for the four seconds it took to plummet into the red and shatter into multi colored data specks, Daniel dispersing right along with it.

This feeling. It was… cold.  
_

"Last, but not least, I've placed a little present in the items storage of every player. Please, have a look."

It was real.

The dark figure in red was still speaking, but his latest words were drowned out by utter grief as Ben stared up at one particular picture of a young man whose death had made the news in the real world. His nerve gear had been pulled from his head by a loved one and now Daniel was a number on a sheet of losses. Deleted. Gone. Dead. However you want to say it, he was beyond Ben's reach now. He couldn't see him one last time at the funeral his parents were sure to give him as Danny's body lie wasting in the real world and Ben's was trapped in a digital hell.

He could see a few others in his peripheral vision had the same look on their faces as the pain rolling his soul. The rest were angry. Should he be angry as well? They shouted and cursed at the creator of SAO, some in disbelief, lots in pure rage. Ben thought he should be angry for himself, feel sorry for his fate, but every emotion he could conjure up now was for one person only.

..and they weren't there. They couldn't be anymore.

The figure must be talking louder so as to be heard over players and their objections because once again Ben could hear him clearly, like a vivid nightmare.

"Right now you may be wondering why. Why would…"

 _Why? Why?! Because you're a sick murderer_. That's why. Ben could taste bile building at the back of his throat. Wait, you could throw up virtually? Well, that might come in handy. Heavens knew he needed a good heaving session in the face of this sadist's obvious insanity right now.

"..Ultimately my goal, was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design..."

Ben reeled, feeling absolutely wretched. He _knew_ that voice.

"As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online."

If this world could swallow him up, could it please do it now?

"Players, I wish you the best of luck."

Ben later wouldn't recall how he ended up back at the hill he'd spent his last time with Danny away. He wouldn't care that the warmth left by his childhood friend's indention in the grass wasn't the same as the heat of a person. He wouldn't flinch as some random player tried to urge him to get up and go someplace safer. He wouldn't register when they finally gave up and ran off in the direction of the next village.

He wouldn't remember to check in his inventory for Akihiko Kayaba's present.


End file.
